The present invention relates generally to hydroelectric power generation, and in particular, to a hydroelectric power generating plant which affords improved versatility and applicability in use and construction.
Ideally, a hydroelectric power generating plant is designed in conjunction with an associated dam so that provision is made for penetration of the dam by the penstocks required to conduct water to the turbines, and so that construction of the plant may take place simultaneously with construction of the dam. However, under certain circumstances, the simultaneous design and construction of a dam and power generating plant is not possible. For example, as a result of recent increases in the demand for power, it has become desirable to retrofit many existing dams and spillways, originally constructed primarily for purposes of flood control, water supply, navigation, and recreation, to now provide a means for generating electric power. Alternatively, many sites which are capable of being dammed to develop a head which is sufficient to generate electric power, are incapable of such use because the cost of constructing the dam and associated power plant by conventional means would not be justified by the expected quantities of power which the resulting installation could produce.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,313, the subject matter of which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, describes the many problems which can be encountered in attempting to retrofit an existing dam, or in attempting to construct a hydroelectric facility as part of a proposed dam which is to be located at a site which offers only marginal productivity, including the environmental and cost considerations which often render such proposed constructions impracticable or unfeasible. Also described is a means for solving these problems in many circumstances, by providing a plant for the generation of hydroelectric power which is to a large extent capable of being manufactured at a remote facility such as a shipyard or the like, and then shipped to the dam site by water. Apart from minimal preparation at the dam site, the majority of the labor required to construct the hydroelectric power generating plant is performed at a facility which is more conducive to reducing costs. Furthermore, modifications to the proposed or the existing dam structure are kept to a minimum. The resulting savings in costs make possible the development of sites which were previously prohibitive to development for hydroelectric power generation.
While serving to significantly increase the number of sites which were available for development, I have found that the basic concept of remotely constructing a hydroelectric facility for transport to a desired site is somewhat limited by the structure of the system proposed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,313, in turn limiting the number of dam sites which may be developed using such a system. Primarily, this is because the implementation described in my prior patent is principally intended for use in connection with dams serviced by a lock system for upstream/downstream transport of the barge assemblies. This still leaves for development dam sites which either do not have a lock system, or which have a lock system which is insufficient to receive barges of the type (and size) described in my prior patent. Nevertheless, many such dam sites offer a potential for useful hydroelectric power generation.
It therefore remained desirable to develop a hydroelectric power plant construction which is adaptable to still further installations as previously discussed, while meeting present design requirements and environmental regulations.